From my experience, that is a popular opinion, but mostly perpetuated by people who only went to Paris, and didn't bother to learn at least a couple of simple p

From my experience, that is a popular opinion, but mostly perpetuated by people who only went to Paris, and didn't bother to learn at least a couple of simple phrases. I got through France just fine while hiking and hitchhiking on my almost nonexistent french, mainly speaking English and German. Just starting with "bonjour" or "ca va?" often lead to people offering me to sleep in their homes instead of under my tarp, especially in small towns, where the older population doesn't see many outsiders, and is therefore generally interested in having something to talk about. Of course their English and German is rather limited, so it takes a long time to communicate, but it felt very rewarding whenever it worked.